Andrew f



(No Model.)

A. F. SPERRY.

PUUNTAIN PEN. No. 470,082. Patented Mar. 1, 1892.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

,ANDREV F. SPERR-Y, OF IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,082, dated March 1,1892.

Application filed October 30,-1891. Serial No. 410,341'. (No model.) i

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW F. SPEREY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to fountain-pens of that class in which forconvenience of mechanical construction the writing end of thereservoir-handle is provided with a removable conductor or plug throughwhich the ink is conveyed to the pen. Obviously the said conductor orplug and the handle may be formed together without departing from thespirit of the invention; but it is preferred to have the conductor orplug removably7 attached to the handle.

The object of the invention is to secure a proper flow of ink and adelivery of the same to the pen at or near the writing-point only,thereby permitting the use of ordinary steel pens and any commercialink.

A further object of the invention is to prevent contact of the ink withthe pen except practically at the aforesaid point of delivery.

of the conductor or plug and between the said point and theWriting-point of the pen, thereby bringing a minimum amount of surfaceof the pen under the direct action of the ink.

It is essential in the use of pens constructed of the baser metals-suchas steel, brass, or a composition of copper and other metals-that thesurface exposed to the action of the ink be as small as practicable toprevent impairing the action of the pen by disintegration of the ink orcorrosion of the pen; hence the necessity in the construction offountain-pens of the character proposed that the ink come in contactwith as little surface of the pen as possible consistent withconvenience in the use of the pen.

The improvement consists, essentially, of a conductor having twoink-conduits formed through it, the said conduits being independent ofeach other and of equal carrying capacity, having the receiving endsbrought as close together as possible and receiving the ink l from achannel or recess formed in the butt of the pen, as hereinafter moreparticularly described.

The'improvement further consists of the novel features and the peculiarconstruction and combination of the parts, which will be hereinaftermore fully described and claimed, and which are shown in the annexeddrawings, in which Figure l is a side view of a pen constructed inaccordance with my invention, parts being broken away and shown partlyin section to illustrate the details of construction. Fig. 2 is a viewof the butt-end of the conductor or plug. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan viewof the conductor or plug. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the writing end ofthe pen, showing a modified form of construction. Fig. 5 shows a sideview of a further modified form of conductor or plug. Fig. 6 is asectional view of a modified form of plunger. Fig. 7 is a view of aninstrument for operating the plunger.

The handle E is of a tubular form and constitutes the reservoir for theink. The conductor or plug D is located at one end of the handle, andthe other end of the said handle is open to permit the insertion of aplunger B. The pen C, which may be any common steel or composition pen,is secured to the handle in any convenient manner, either by means ofthe conductor or plug D, as shown in Fig. l, or by means of a sleeve m,as shown in Fig. 2, or otherwise, as may be desired. The conductor orplug D may be slipped into the handle and held therein. by friction, ormay be exteriorly threaded and screwed into the said -handle, and ismade tapering toward the delivery end.- The tapering end may be straighton the side designed to come opposite the pen, as shown in Fig. l, ormay be somewhat concave on the said side, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, inorder to allow for variations in the shapes of pens. The conduits dcZ-two, at least, are essential to the efficient working of the pen,although more may be provided, if desiredare of proper size and equal orpractically equal carrying capacity and extend throughout the greaterpart of the length of the conductor or pl u g. The receiving ends of theconduits are brought as close together as possible but the discharge ordelivery ends need not necessarily be so close together. The

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conduits are separate and independent from the receiving to the deliveryend, and their receiving ends communicate with the small end of aslightly-Haring recess or channel c, which is projected from theconcavity fin the butt-end of the conductor or plug. rl`he butt-end ofthe conductor is made oblique and depressed between its edges, thegreatest depth of the depression or concavity coinciding with thereceiving end of the recess or channel c. The recess or channel c islocated at the bottom side of the conductor or plug, because thisrelative position has been found to give the best results. The manner offorming the conduits in the conductor is immaterial so long as they areclosed onall sides, and the plug prevents contact of the ink with thepen except at or near the writing-point of the pen. The partition g,between the conduits at the delivery ends, is prolonged somewhat, so asto aid in conducting the ink to the point of the pen. The projection 7ion one. side--thebottomsidebeingpreferablebecause it will not interferewith the free use of the peu-of the conductor forms a rest for the thumbto obtain a purchase upon when removing the conductor from the handle,and also serves as a retaining-point for the cap J to spring over andprevent the said cap from slipping oft. The cap J is ot' soft rubber orother suitable material and is sufficiently large to protect the pointof the pen and conductor when the pen is not in use. The plunger B isexpansible and is composed of a rod K, having a head 7s of suitableshape at one end and having its other end threaded and provided with thenut t' and the yielding block L, which is mounted on the rod and heldbetween the head lo and the nut t'. Obviously on screwing up the nut onthe rod K the block L is compressed in the direction of its length andexpanded laterally, thereby permitting cornpensation for wear and t-headaptation of the plunger for easy motion within the handle and forhandles having bores of slightly-different cross-sectional area. Theplunger is advanced within the handle at convenient intervals as theinl; is consumed to expel the superfluous air and is manipulated by asuitable instrument, a rod, as G, having a hook at one end, being welladapted to the purpose because the hooked end can be engaged with f thehead 7c when it is desired to withdraw the plunger for the purpose offilling the pen by suction in the manner of a common syringe or for anyother purpose. To prevent pulling the plunger entirely out, a common pinmay be inserted in the small hole n at the outer end of the handle, whendesired.

The operation of the pen is as follows: The reservoir is tilled with inkin the usual mauner, either by removing the plug and iilling the handlefrom the open end or by dipping the point of the plug into the ink anddrawing the plunger from the writing end of the handle to the butt-endthereof. X'Vhen the pen is brought to a writing position, 'the inkenters the single channel or passage c and is conveyed to the receivingends of the conduits CZ CZ and enters and fills said conduits simultaneously, the ink being retained therein by capillary attraction andatmospheric pressure. In service the ink is drawn from the pen in theusual manner and the equilibrium of the columns of ink in the conduits dd is disturbed, the ink being supplied in proper quantity by one conduitand air entering the reservoir through the other conduit to prevent theformation of a vacuum and take the place of the displaced ink. Theplunger is advanced within the handle at proper intervals to expel thesurplus air and prevent the formation of a too large air-space.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Pat ent, is

l. In a fountain-pen, the combination, with the reservoir-handle and theWriting-pen, ol a feeder consisting of a plug having a passage leadingfrom the butt-end and having two conduits of nearly equal carryingcapacity communicating with said passage and constructed to supply theinl; to the pen at or near the writing-point, substantially as set.forth, for the purpose described.

2. In a fountain-pen, an ink-conductor having two independent conduitsformed through it, the conduits being approximately of equal carryingcapacity and having the receiving' and the delivery ends, respectively,in close relation, and having a channel at the butt-end of the conductorwhich communicates with the receiving ends of the said conduits,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In a fountain-pen, the combination, with the handle, of a conductorremovably attached to the said handle and provided with projection 7Lfor the finger to obtain a purchase on when removing the conductor fromthe handle, and a flexible cap adapted to be sprung over the saidprojection and be retained in position thereby, substantially asdescribed.

et. In a fountain-pen, an inleconductor having its butt-end oblique andprovided with a concavity and a channel and having two independentconduits formed through the said conductor and communicating with thesaid channel, the conduits being approximately of equal carryingcapacity and having the delivery ends in close relation and adapted tosupply the ink to the pen at or near the writing-point, substantially asand for the purpose described.

5. In a fountain-pen, the combination, with the reservoir-handle and thewriting-pen, of a conductor having a series of conduits of nearlyequalcarrying capacity formed through it, the delivery ends of the conduitsbeing in close relation and constructed to supply t-he ink to the pen ator near the writing-point, and having a partition projected from thedelivery end of the conductor, substantially as set forth, for thepurpose described.

6. A fountain-pen comprisinga handle, having a hole near the outer endto reeeiveapin the said rod, and 2L nut on the threaded end for thepurpose hereinbefore specified, having or the rod to Compress the saidyielding block,

a pen and a conductor at the opposite end, I substantially as Set forth.

the oonduetor having two conduits of nearly In testimony whereof I affixmy signature in 5 equal carrying capacity formed through it, presence oftwo Witnesses.

the receiving and the delivery ends of the said y D 1 conduits being inclose relation, and an ex- ANDREW? F' S* RRRX' pansble plunger Withinthe said handle, eom- X'Vitnesses:

posed of a rod threaded at one end and hztv- VAN BUREN .HILLYARD,

ro ing a suitable head and a yielding block ou FRANK H. BURNS, Jr.

